An enflamed chariot blazing across the sky, a serpent devouring a man, a woman clothed in rays of light … such are the images that colour the madrigals from the 14th-century Ars Nova. But these mythical themes conceal worldly content, representing the heraldic emblems of the most powerful families, or alluding to political events such as the Great Schism, when rival popes ruled simultaneously in Rome and Avignon. In this selection of pieces, Sollazzo Ensemble presents passionate language in verse and music to honour these powerful patrons of the arts.